The present invention generally relates to infant protective devices, and more particularly to a protective device to maintain an infant in an upright position and prevent the infant's head from sudden, extreme movement while the infant is in various seating systems.
The neck and head of a developing infant are disproportionately oversized and heavy as compared to the rest of the infant's torso during its early years and must be protected from excessive movement while the infant grows and develops its muscles to effectively provide muscular support to its own head and neck. During this early period, care must be taken to properly support the infant's head and neck in order to prevent injury to the infant's developing spinal column. The infant cannot support weight of its own head by the infant's immature muscles. If not externally supported during such actions as picking up the infant or maintaining the infant in a sitting position, then the head can slump of its own accord and injure the infant's spine or back.
As an infant develops with age, it is able to gradually sit upright for short periods of time, but the head and neck must still be protected against sudden movements that would allow the inertia of the head to move the neck into a damaging posture. To assist the infant in sitting upright, the child is often placed in a support device such as an exerciser, high chair, a swing, a walker, a grocery cart or the like, which provides leg openings and some form of support for the torso. However, in general, no support is provided for the neck and head. Often these support devices are oversized so that the infant is not in direct contact with the confines of the support device. This allows the infant to slip to one side or the other, ending up in an uncomfortable or even dangerous position. To secure the infant in these oversized support devices, the parents use various packing materials such as diapers, blankets, or pillows between the infant and the confines of the support device, in order to remove the gap. These packing materials are generally unsatisfactory and do not stay in position.
A number of patents have been proposed to address this need. U.S. Pa. No. 5,996,153, issued on Dec. 7, 1999, to Slater, discloses a torso support device that comprises an I-shaped padded member the fits between an infant's legs and is secured by fasteners around the infant's torso to support the infant in a sitting position. No mention is made in the disclosure of any feature that might limit the range of motion of the infant's head, thereby protecting the head and preventing whiplash caused by sudden changes in motion of the infant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,567 issued Mar. 17, 1992, to Kenoyer, discloses a baby back support device to aid in learning to sit. The device straps about the infant's buttocks with a strap across the lap. However, it does not provide direct support to the neck and head. A cushioned seating device for use by infants in shopping carts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,250, issued Aug. 20, 1996, to Childers. The device fastens around the infant's torso but is not sufficiently elevated to support the infant's head. U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,749, issued Sep. 3, 1996, to Reher et al., discloses an infant support seat and cushion in combination, used to maintain the infant in an upright, seated position. The padded covering of the molded seat portion lacks padding along the infant's chest. No disclosure is made of any attempt to prevent the infant's head from sudden movements or to pad the head in the event of such sudden movements. Furthermore no provision is made to adjust the size of the apparatus to accommodate normal growth by the infant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,888, issued Oct. 21, 1997, to Sowell et al., discloses a seat cover which conforms to a shopping cart to protect children riding therein. However, none of these inventions provides sufficient protection for the infant's head and torso together.
As can be seen, there is a need for protective device for developing infants, which will securely hold the infant in an upright position in a walker, exercise device, swing, grocery cart, or similar device without excessive play about the seat that would otherwise allow the infant to move about within its confines. Furthermore, there is a need for an infant protective device that will protect the head and neck of the infant from damaging movement caused by sudden forces acting upon the seat. Also, it is desirable that such a device is able to be wrapped around the infant so as to be worn over the infant's clothing and/or diapers, and the device should be provide resistance to bodily fluids. Finally, the device should be easily attached about the infant.